The Things We Do For Love
by AG23746
Summary: Scorpius and Alya are the best of friends and feel some kind of connection with one another. A huge revelation, and their entire world falls apart: they're twins, children of the estranged Draco and Hermione Granger. Now, it is up to them to find out why they hadn't known about eachother, and to bring their parents back together. Will they succeed? The Dreaded Marriage Law fic!
1. A New Beginning

**THE THINGS WE DO FOR LOVE**

 **-QuillDragon23746**

 **Disclaimer: Harry Potter belongs to J.K.R, no matter how much I wish it was mine. Any characters a die-hard Potterhead won't know, are all mine, as is the plot.**

 **I solemnly swear that I am up to no good.**

* * *

SMASH!

'No, 'Mione, not that! Stop!'

SMASH!

'Oh, Merlin! Ginny will kill me! She'd given it to me as a present for our engagement!'

SMASH!

'No, not my Quidditch collectible! 'Mione!'

SMASH! BANG! SMASH!

'Will you just stop wrecking everything in my house, woman?! Just calm the bloody heck down!'

Hermione Malfoy whirled around to stare at her best friend, her impressive mass of curls swirling around her to rest like a halo around her heart shaped pretty face and enunciating her chocolate-brown eyes, which were currently boring into striking emerald-green eyes and promising them a plethora of experiences. She began to fumble in her robes for her wand and after finding it, pointed it straight between her companion's eyes. The green-eyed, raven-haired man gulped loudly and held his hands up in a surrender motion, trying to placate the irate witch in front of him before she resorted to hexing him into next year.

'Hermione… listen.'

The incensed woman gave a wild laugh full of mockery, throwing her head back. 'That's it?! After everything I told you, you can only come up with 'calm the bloody heck down'? Go on, then, Harry. Tell me what you have to say. I'm listening.'

'Well, 'Mione, we can resolve this without violence. Let's just… put the wand away… and discuss this rationally, like the adults we both are.'

Without realizing that she'd been holding her breath, she let out a whoosh of air from between her lips, sounding disconcertingly like she was hissing at him. Taking a deep breath as if to calm herself, she began again with an even tone, although neither of them was fooled by it. The evenness of her voice clearly masked extreme hurt, bubbling anger and treacherous sobs of betrayal.

'Tell me, Harry Potter, have long has it been since you buried the hatchet with my _darling_ husband?'

Harry began to sweat, his eyes focused on the death grip she had on her wand and her unusually white knuckles.

'Um, two, almost three, years…'

'And how long have we been friends, Harry?'

'10 years,'

Red swamped her gaze for a moment and she snatched a teacup that was unfortunate enough to be nearby, and chucked it at his head. Harry ducked, but barely in time, the unlucky teacup smashing against the wall beside his shoulder.

'TEN YEARS! We've been friends for ten years, and you suddenly decide you're going to take Malfoys' side as opposed to mine?'

Harry really would've liked to say that she was technically a Malfoy now too, having married Draco three years prior, but wisely decided to keep his mouth shut. That choice may just have saved his neck.

'I'm not taking sides, Hermione. I know what you told me, I know your side of the story. I'm just reserving judgement until I hear his too. I know I've known you for a really long time, and I've also seen the way Draco looks at you. Like he is the luckiest bastard on earth and how fortunate he is to have you by his side. I've seen his love for you every time he even thinks about you, and I just have a bit of difficulty reconciling that Draco with the one you've just described to me. That's all, 'Mione.'

'Is it really difficult for you to even _think_ that MALFOY chose to pretend to love me, make me fall in love with him and then conveniently inform me of the truth after we're married and have kids, so that he could break my heart and leave me for rotten? Well, he succeeded in his plan, didn't he? He probably just wanted to use my 'war heroine' status to improve the Malfoy name. I bet you, he never even loved me in the first place, just bloody used me. And I, like a fool, fell head over heels in love with him.'

By the time she had finished, her sobs had won over and she sank to the floor in a crumpled heap, her shoulders shaking with suppressed cries of anguish. Harry strode forward and grabbed her reluctant petite frame into a comforting hug. She struggled for a bit, trying to get away, mumbling something about how she wasn't a damsel in distress, but he didn't let go even when she relaxed into his arms, soaking his shirt with her never ending tears.

He didn't know how long they stayed that way, Hermione a blubbering mess, but when he raised his head from where it was lying on her head, he saw Ginny standing near the doorframe, a dark scowl etched on her face. Clearly, she'd come back after putting Hermione's daughter to bed, and had heard the last of their conversation.

He shook his head at her, silently telling her not to make a fuss. Maybe it had just been a really big misunderstanding, at least he hoped it was, because he knew that if what Hermione had said about Draco was true, then he himself was going to put the man six feet under and then dance upon his grave, and he really didn't want to have to do that. He'd grown as close to the snarky blond as was possible in the aftermath of their violent history, the war and the re-introduction of the Marriage law three years ago.

'Mione, you do know that you're welcome to stay here any time you want, right? I've already readied the guest room for you, and have put Alya into her bassinet. She's sound asleep and you don't have to worry about her at all. Where is Scorpius?' Ginny asked

Hermione sniffled slightly before replying. 'He's at the Manor, with Narcissa. I… I was going to take him, too, but… Cissa said…'

She burst into a fresh bout of tears and Ginny waddled her six-month pregnant body over to her to pat her on her head. It was a while before Hermione could continue again, but once she'd started, she couldn't seem to be able to stop.

'I overheard Draco talking to Astoria, you know, his ex, and she was asking him about the plan that he'd made to use me, and I couldn't stay there anymore. You understand, don't you, Gin? He'd planned all along to use and throw me like a rag doll, and I'd fallen for his tricks time and again. I just had to get away from there! If I didn't, I would be giving in to him, I'll be letting him win and I couldn't have that. So, I packed all my things and took Alya and Scorp and was just about to leave when Cissa found me. She'd seemed really, really upset that Dra- _Malfoy_ would do this when I told her and she begged me not to leave, but my decision had been made. She told me that I won't be able to take care of both of them and to leave one behind. Of course, I wasn't ready to do that, but she made a Wizard's Oath that she will not let anything happen to them. I – I left Scorp with her. She told me that Lucius Malfoy would not treat Alya properly if I left her, because she's female and.. And… Oh, Gin, does that make me a bad mother? That I left Scorp like that?'

Ginny stroked her back gently, as tears of silent anger at Malfoy rolled down her cheeks. 'What are you going to do now, 'Mione? Will you stay here with us or at the Burrow with mum and dad?'

'I want to go to Australia, Gin. To my parents. I'll stay there, with Alya. I don't want any of the Malfoys to come after me to take her away from me. I wish I could just vanish off the face of the earth. Maybe I'll change my name legally. _He_ doesn't know where exactly I'd sent them in Australia. We didn't talk much about the war.' Hermione said, wiping her tears and sitting upright, eyes burning with determination. 'Harry, do you think you could create new identities for me and Alya without anyone knowing? Being Head Auror?'

Harry, who had until now been lost in thoughts, snapped back into reality. 'I'm sorry, what did you say, 'Mione?'

'Can you create new identities for us, Harry? I don't want any of them to ever find us again.'

* * *

It was in the dead of the night that Harry felt a slight shift in the wards around his house and immediately bolted from bed, his wife stirring groggily beside him but not waking up. While being an Auror had its advantages, one of its most prominent disadvantage was that it was virtually impossible to experience a deep slumber. He grabbed his wand which was stashed under his pillow and made his way outside his bedroom.

Walking cautiously down the stairs, taking care to avoid the stairs which creaked, he brandished his wand in front of him, various hexes and jinxes flashing in his brain to practice on the intruder. He checked the entire house and found nothing amiss, his whispered 'Homenum revelio' only confirming this further.

He pulled open his front door to check if there was any one outside, and found an envelope tucked underneath his doormat. He checked it for any form of magic, and, deeming it safe, brought it back in.

Tearing open the seal, he pulled out several letters, each addressed to either Hermione or himself. He frowned when he saw who had written them. He couldn't imagine why he hadn't come in person and had chosen to write many letters instead.

His scowl deepened at the contents of the letters addressed to him. Draco kept begging for forgiveness and saying that he really did love Hermione. The plan had been made in the reverberation of the war and the destruction of all the values he'd been taught. He hadn't thought of the plan for years now and hadn't expected Hermione would ever doubt him after all that they had gone through. He realised why she'd left without saying a word to him, but he was worried about her and Alya and wanted them to come back so he could explain himself. He hadn't come to speak to her himself because, knowing Hermione, he didn't think she would even want to think about him at that moment and he wanted her to be okay with seeing him before he justified himself. He wished Harry would keep him updated on their welfare, should she choose not to ever speak to him again.

It seemed, in the letters, as if Draco had simply given up and didn't life to return to the way it was before.

Harry's emotions were conflicted. He didn't know whether he should be angry at Draco for his pig-headedness or to berate Hermione for her stubbornness and unwillingness to see what was right in front of her. Yes, Draco had made a vindictive plan against her, but even he could see that Draco had clearly not had it in mind for a really long time.

He hoped that everything would work out in the end, that they both would realize just how much in love with each other they were and that they had better leave the past where it belonged: in the past.

* * *

'Hermione, are you sure you want to do this? Please, before you take any further steps, speak to him at least once. It's been a week since you left the manor, and not a single day has gone when he hadn't sent you a few letters and you've burnt them all without even reading what was inside. Just give him one last chance-'

Hermione cut him off, raising a sardonic eyebrow at him. 'Oh, of course. By all means, let's all give _Draco Malfoy_ one more chance because he really has proven how much _trustworthy_ he is, right?' She smiled bitterly. 'Harry, I quit, alright. I don't have any more strength left to even consider listening to all the taunts and insults he would have to throw my way.'

'But, Hermione, just listen-'

'No, Harry. That's enough. Quit pestering 'Mione about it. If she doesn't want to meet the sick bastard, then she won't. She has every right to be angry and not want to see his revolting face ever again.'

Both Hermione and Harry turned around at Ginny's voice and found her clutching a teetering Alya's hand as the one-year old attempted to walk forward. The little tyke gave a joyous shout, as she began taking faltering steps towards her mama. Face instantly breaking out into a wide grin, Hermione scooped her daughter into her arms and throwing her expertly into the air before bringing her close for a cuddle, eliciting a cute round of giggles from the delightful tot.

'Harry, are all the formalities for the identity changes completed?' Ginny asked her husband, pointedly ignoring the look of disapproval across his face.

He sighed, realising a losing battle when he saw one, and this was definitely one of those. Two vengeful witches, one of whom was directed completely by erratic hormones, was never a good match. Draco had better be extremely grateful to him, for having stopped his rather resentful wife from making mincemeat of him and feeding him to the dogs.

'Yes,' he said, glancing over at Hermione. 'You're both officially Beatrice and Ivianne Wilkins starting today.'

Hermione smiled slightly and after placing Alya- no, Ivianne- on a squishy armchair in the Potters' drawing room, went over and hugged Harry tightly.

'I know what you're saying, Harry, and I understand. But I need you to understand that no matter what happens now, my relationship with Malfoy can never be the same again. Every time I'll see him I'll be reminded of his bigotry and cunningness. I'm not saying I'll never forgive him; I may one day. For now, though, I'm not ready. Please don't hold this against me.' She whispered in his ear and felt a few tears leak out at his accepting nod. She really couldn't have hoped for a better set of friends, who have always been there for her.

Gathering as much of a rather huge Ginny into her arms as she could, Hermione thanked her profusely for allowing her to stay, and promising that she'll be gone out of her hair in no time.

After all, she was Beatrice Wilkins now. And Beatrice would put her past behind her and concentrate on making the best out of the future.

* * *

'You see that, Honeybunch? That is where our new home is. And you are going to just love this, I know. Mama loves you so much, you know that?' Beatrice Wilkins said, hugging her daughter close to her and showing her the beautiful panorama from the window of the plane they'd taken to Australia.

Her daughter cooed back at her, as her chubby hands grabbed onto and pulled the hair of the man sitting next to Hermione. 'No, Ivy, don't do that!' Beatrice chided, pulling her daughter's surprisingly tight grip away from the man. 'I'm so sorry about that. I didn't think she'd do that.'

The man chuckled and waved her apology away as it was his 'pleasure to have her take a liking to this greying old thing.' They spent the rest of the ride making small talk, him describing all the unruly antics of his own grandchildren. The baggage collection turned a little messy, what with a whiny, hungry one year old clinging to her legs. It took a while, but Ivy calmed down again and was her usual bubbly self.

Beatrice let out a breath of relaxation as she walked out of the airport and into the pleasant air of Australia, Ivy strapped to her baby seat and attempting to imitate a bird by flapping her arms like wings.

Her parents were overjoyed to see Ivy and seeing the happiness on her daughter's face, Beatrice knew that her decision had been a right one.

It was time to make a new beginning, and she'll be damned before she let anything go wrong.

Here goes nothing…

* * *

 **A/N: Hey, guys! I'm back again…**

 **So, this is basically a Dramione fic ('cause I'm a die-hard Dramione fan) with the overrated plot of Marriage Law with a twist.**

 **R &R Please.**

 **Love,**

 **QuillDragon23746.**

 **P.S. This was 1st named One Step At A time, and I've now changed it to The Things We Do For Love. This is the same story, just under a different name.**


	2. Father?

**CHAPTER 1:**

 **10 YEARS LATER…**

'I'm getting too old for this,' I mumbled into my pillow, trying my damned hardest to ignore Ivy's voice as it drilled a migraine into my sleep-deprived head. I swatted my hand in the general direction of my daughter, who, in her excitement had been jumping vigorously onto my bed, in half an attempt to get her to stop her incessant squealing. 'Ivy, could you please be a dear and not scream so loudly in here this early in the morning? Mama really needs her sleep, you know.'

'But Mama,' Ivy whined, frowning at the large blanket-covered lump on the bed (that just happened to be me) as she sat crossed legged on the bed with one last thump. 'It isn't overly early in the morning. It's already seven thirty.'

After exercising some choice words in my expansive vocabulary, I scrambled out of bed, managing to get tangled in my sheets and falling face-first on the carpeted floor, before freshening up, throwing on a pair of black jeans and a pink tank top and blundering down the stairs.

I quickly whipped up a huge stack of pancakes, Ivy's favourite, and after devouring some with an excessive amount of maple syrup, dashed out the door with a kiss on both of my daughter's cheeks in farewell. 'Gamma will come in about five minutes to take you to your dance lessons, honeybunch. Don't open the door for anyone else and keep it locked at all times. If you need anything, I'm only a call away.' I waved goodbye enthusiastically as I went on my way to work.

I continued to trek to the mainstream café, about two blocks from my spacious apartment, called Coffee Cravings, owned by the ever-charming Deborah. I was still grateful to score a job at such an established café, run by such a kind-hearted and welcoming person. Debbie had reached out to me when I was in a time of need and direction… she helped me put the rest of my life on track within a small frame.

As I step through the entrance of the café, a sweet tinkling of the bell signalling my arrival, I am greeted with a welcoming smile from Debbie. My skin tingles from the significant increase in temperature as I go past the heater and am greeted with the mouth-watering aroma that ignites my taste buds.

I walk through the maze of tables and chairs and tie up my black apron around my waist. 'Morning, Deb. How's it going?'

'Morning, Tris.' She replies. It had been Ivy, who had changed my name from Beatrice to plain Tris, having found Beatrice to be a mouthful for her, and now, everyone called me that. I don't mind, of course. 'Everything's going great. So, how was your weekend? Are you all ready for your shift back to England?'

Debbie had sort of been a mentor to me all these years I had been here. She was a friend of my mother's and had been delighted to meet me when I had first come here with Ivy. Ivy had been almost a year old, and while normally she wouldn't just go to anyone, Debbie had passed the test and Ivy had been enamoured with her. Debbie was the one who'd convinced me to continue my studies, even though I had a daughter to take care of. She believed that if one had something they passionately loved to do, they must keep doing it. She learned of my passion for knowledge, and convinced the Headmistress of the only University in town to accept me, even though I had no certificates or degrees to attest to my knowledge, and I daresay she never regretted accepting me. I had taken up a job at her café during my first year at the University, where I majored in English, and the job stuck. It doesn't even seem like a job anymore. Just something I do for fun, with an added bonus of a salary.

Since Debbie was a muggle, she didn't know exactly why I had come here. All she knew was that I had had a falling out with my husband, whom I loved dearly, and decided to just up and leave from there. She hadn't judged my decision, only calmed me down when I would have spells of extreme sadness which caused me to shut down completely. She knew I hoped to never go back there, but now, some important business had come up, and we had to go back. She had been concerned for me, but agreed with me that I could not keep running from my problems for forever, and would have to face them at one point or another.

In actuality, Ivy had received her Hogwarts letter two weeks back. I should have anticipated it, of course, but since I'd begun living as a muggle, I'd almost seemed to have forgotten that major detail. It hadn't helped that she hadn't shown any signs of accidental magic and I'd begun to wonder if she was not a witch after all. Harry, who had taken up a part-time job at Hogwarts as a DADA Professor, had been the one to bring the letter here and 'explain' the concept of the wizarding world to Ivy and me. I'd felt terrible, having kept that big a secret from my daughter, but I knew that there would be many questions asked if she knew, and I just wasn't ready to answer them. Now, I didn't have much of a choice, but I'd let her believe that I knew nothing of her qualities until I was ready to tell her. I only hoped she would forgive me for it.

'I'm coping, Deb,' I smiled slightly at her to let her know I was fine. 'There's a lot to do, though. I mean, going back there would be tough, I won't deny it, but it's nothing I can't handle. Don't worry about me, Deb. We'll both be fine.'

I then continued with setting up the café before opening in a couple of minutes. My muscles strained as I moved the heavy, wooden tables back to their positions against the walls and the matching chairs in their position under the tables. As I'm running hot water to scrub the tables, I glance at the antique wall clock behind the counter and see that half an hour has already passed. It seems that there are no apparent signs of Theo showing up for work.

Theo was one of my classmates who'd joined the café just a month after I'd done. In the amount of time we'd known each other, there was no shift of his for which he hadn't been late, if you exclude the very first one when he'd arrived one minute before his scheduled time. Unsurprisingly, he managed to be late for another shift once again.

He entered the café with a scowl on his face and only grunted in response to my greeting. I'm guessing he got completely drunk last night at his sister's birthday bash and now was having a terrible hangover.

'So, Theo, how was it?'

His frown deepens. 'How was what?'

'Lizzy's birthday party. Did you get drunk and puke all over the place again?'

He practically growls at me, and I wince as I'm repeatedly hit with a rolling pin, courtesy of an angry and embarrassed Theo.

'So, that's why you're so grumpy and _late_ this morning.' Debbie adds as she throws an apron at him before heading over to flip the open/closed sign over.

Theo waves us all off as he stations at the counter, preparing to take orders for the day. I do a quick sweep of the kitchen, checking all the oven timers and icing the last of the cakes before joining him at the counter. Both our fingers are crossed for an easy work day, but I guess we'll just have to leave it up to fate.

The bell soon tinkles, alerting us to our first customers for the day, who look like Monday mornings are just not their cups of tea. 'Here we go,' Theo mutters beside me, flashing me a thumbs up and an uncomfortable smile. I suppose fate was not on our side that day.

* * *

'Ivy, honey, I'm home!' I called out into the darkness of our apartment, hoping that at least today she would be at home. Usually, when I arrived late like today, she would take up residence in our neighbours' house, who had just had a baby six months back, and then I would have to drag her back home because she refused to leave baby Jack's side. Tonight, though, I wasn't particularly in the mood for a tug of war with her. The day had been taxing, what with the large number of customers. Coffee Cravings was attached to the local library, and most students had taken to claiming the spot as their own. While it meant more business for the café, with large groups of hungry teenagers in the area, it also meant that none of them had even a little while to rest their exhausted bodies.

'IVY! Where are you?' I called out, already resigning myself to having to drag her home.

'I'm here, Mama.' Ivy whispered from behind me as I was peering into her bedroom, startling me enough that I let out a small shriek. 'Ivy! Don't do that!'

'Sorry, Mama.' She murmured, causing me to frown. She was never this quiet, unless she was up to some mischief. Her eyes were downcast, like she couldn't meet mine and she was wringing her hands together. The scene pulled at my memories, it looked familiar, but I couldn't quite place it. Immediately, I became worried. She was acting completely different and had no idea how to deal with a subdued Ivy. Mum would be here for most of the time that I couldn't be and she always complained about something or other that she had done. If I do say so myself, I thought she was following in her father's footsteps and just might be a great Slytherin.

'Honey, what's wrong?' I asked her, cupping her delicate cheek with my hand. 'Did something happen at school? Did someone say something to you? Ivy, tell me, baby, you know you can tell me anything, right?'

To my horror, tears started cascading down her cheeks and I brought her into a tight hug, stroking her back and letting her cry it out. Just this morning she'd been extremely joyous and I couldn't imagine what would have happened that had reduced her to this bawling mess. The thing is, Ivy never cried. Ever since we'd come to Australia, I have never remembered seeing her cry. She used to get cranky, yes, but she'd never shed any tears in the last ten years, and frankly speaking, I couldn't have been more alarmed than I was now.

'Mama,' she started when she'd reigned in her cries enough to regain speech, 'I love you. You know I do. Don't leave me and go. I'll not trouble you anymore, honest. Don't leave me, Mama.'

'Ivy, dear, no one's leaving you. What made you think like that? I love you with all my heart. I could never leave you.' I whispered into her ear, stroking her hair gently.

'But Maddison said that my father left me because I'm bad and now you will leave me too. Is that why I don't have my Papa, Mama? Does he not love me? Was I bad? I want my Papa. Will you tell him I love him and I'll be good? He'll never have to leave me. Everyone I know has a Mama and Papa, but not me. Why do I not have Papa, Mama? Why?'

My daughter's questions left me reeling. I didn't know what to say to her. I would've liked to have told her the truth, but I was afraid that if I did, she would hate me and never want to see me again. It was bad enough that one of my children, my Scorp, would grow to resent me; he would resent who was supposed to be his mother, be with him in all his joys and sorrows, watch him grow up, read him stories to bed each night and just hug him with all the love in the world. And I had done none of these things. It didn't matter that I had sent at least one letter for every month in a year for the last ten years. I'd sent them to Harry to be given to Scorp. I don't know if he has ever read any of them or just throws them into the fireplace. As for Ivy, I'd tried to be her mother and father both, but I suppose no matter how hard I try I could never take her father's place. It is reserved for him and him only.

So I didn't answer her questions, at least not just yet. I held her until she felt better and then made her a delicious dinner with her favourite shortbread as dessert before leading her to my bed. Handing her a mug of hot chocolate, I read out her favourite book to her. She didn't ask me about her father again, but I couldn't lie to her.

Snuggling closer to her and Bun-bun, her toy rabbit without whom she could never fall asleep, I made the split-second decision to tell her the truth. Not in entirety, of course, but as much as she could understand.

'Do you want to know about your Papa, Ivy?'

* * *

 **So, that is the first chapter, guys. Hope you liked it.**

 **R &R please.**

 **Love,**

 **QuillDragon23746**


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